Vehicle signal



Jul 2?, 1943. HOLMES ET AL 2,325,319

VEHICLE SIGNAL Filed Dec. 12 1941 MES, I INVEE.I\ JITORS BY Z Mw Lou/s A .771.

[III/ll ATTORNEY s ich a; (fie-Wee ih 'ord'e'r to pass the: rigi ooerator; I v

elbow and-wristacti-bns which may exactlyduglia Patented July 27, 1943 'vEmoLE sreN ap v" Joseph B, Holmes, Lns

An elas, Gama. and Louis i IH. Tileygjiort Collins, $010 I V Applioartion-lDecember 12, 194m, Serial No; 4222668- t mama (o1. r m-32m),

' This. ilwention relates tosignaling devices and? partioularly to a signaling devicefor motor-vehicles whieh si'niulates the movements of arr 0peratorshand toprovide indications of the-operaator'sintentions.

There a-re-several=types of such signalii'rgjcle vicesdtnown in bhe -art, such asthosein the form ofian: arrow and as shown in- U; S; Patent 2G8 L3885-of May 25,- 19311- ancl= the hand type" such: as: shown in '-S;-; Patent 136%;6755' of @0- tober 25,1928. Applicant's" invention i's--qfthe general type shown in the latter" patent, wherein; a! ham isprovidewat the; ext'remit'y or the; signali'n'g" arm: It has-been found, howeve hat regulations of 'somep state motor vehicledlVlS'lOIjlS. must have a positive-alien; be "ruge d', andu ot. be subject to failurescause-d5 'b'y' inclement: weather,- when the signaling devihe is; m:-- quently -usedy H i 'I-h"type--ef signal s-howir irr-B ateht'ZQS 3G5- employs camewhielr does notihave a 1:0 ti, action in both directionsbutdepends on gravity and-abrakestaloll'iialr to fmeve andc0nt1olfit; in

one-direefio'n. Also; the'typeiofsignallshowrrin Fatent 1*,64667-5 ilfi'l'i'zes a spring action i for". maintainingthe si'grmrim any: ad-justed' position. Furthermore; thestructures ofthese patents do: not accuratelysimulate the arm positions neoe sary to provide-the proper Signals,

'llhe present inventionis direotfecritoair arm sift: nal whichqs st llrdy axid rugged and whith at allv times; isunder' the} direct positive control? of The It" isalso; ad'aiyted to, provide j' both.

sate those of arr operators signaling arm and;v

when'adjusted to anypartieularposition'; it Willf in that) position by-a positiiy e be maintained" latch; w llhe: principal object off the invention, there fore; is; to faoilitateasignalingi from motor ve 371101851; f 1 Y Anothen object: 0fthe invention is: 1101 provide" av-mechanical armx signal to simulate "opera aiio sarm,- for a: given; set; ofrsignalszs i 1 further object Qf-thefinventionl is topnovicle: a; signal. easily: attaqhable to. any, type of! motor vehicle wall. or doort,

vide a. signal which. is positively controlled; 5 the operator at all positions and, wliichl issuit out with particularity in the appended claims,

the man-her of its" organization andqthe mode of its operation will be better understood by refelF' ring to the following description read in. c0njiun-cti-o-nwith-' the aocompanying drawing form.- ing a: part? thereo f,,' in which" Fig: lisa side elevational View ofthe fmcentionfl attached" to a: wall or door ofja; motor vehicleand: showing" the various positionsof adjustment; thereof; v

Fig: 2 is a plan view-of the invention; Y

3 15 21 Cross-sectional View of the signaling device showing the internal operating; elements. thereofi; and,

mera-lsy identify th s same elements; the signal comprises a; fixed") section; composed of portions .5-R- located oneach: sider of a wall or door 6' ofa motor vehicle; amovablej f'orearm' section' T a-haii-d section; 8, 'As: shown in, Fig; 1 the portions {FL-521E113? stationary, which corresponds" tothe operators uppergarm', while the seetionzlg corresponding tor'the operators forearm, v is mov e fourpositions while the hand" portion a o movable to fourrpositions.. as shown lines'in'Fig; 1: a v H sitiorgs'of"- the' controlling handle lllare shown corresponqihgtothe four signal positions. That is the-solidli'ne'positionsof sections 1 and 8" correspongi'to the solid-linepqsition; of the handle. lily while-dottewllne positions i'l"8"' correspond to l1anelle p0sitiorr- H1; dpttedFline positions 1" 8"' COI"l eSpOI1(l'lYQ bangle position ljll"',and" dotted line positions; 'l1"-;- I fclottedl'irie-handle; position. m'"; It will'be noted from-threesyariQusbositiom that the arm has an the sigrial'rtih the position; 0f Fig." 11. the

upon the latter ends of the'hollowa rod's' ls and w; respectively, for tightening and holding; the] signal in position onthe wall". This is all. the

mounting required torafllxingfthe signal, to, any' of the c'oritrol' haridle or correspond to elbowgaetlorr at' the pivotpoint lilarid' aijwrist hollow, the lower edge being open'from' the point 28 to the point 29 to permit movement of the section 1 about pivot l5. The extended end of the section 1 is also circular and open but is flanged to permit the insertion of the circular end of' the hand section 8 which is mounted upon the pivot bolt I6 which is centered with respect to these two curved end sections.

The sections 1'Iandj8 are adjusted to their re-' spective signaling positions by a connection from a disc member 32 integral with a handle 33, the disc being rotatable about an axle bolt 34. A

flange 35 on the disc 32 has a hole thereinto accommodate a connecting link 36, the other end of the link being attached to a horizontal rod 31'adapted to slide within the tube 19. The rod 31 is madeof two sections adapted to be threaded together as shown at 38 so as to be adjustable to the proper length in accordance with the width of thewall 5. Continuing along the mechanical connection, the. left-hand end ofthe rod 31 is pivoted to a curved link 40 which is attached to and pivoted ion a rivet or rod 4! passing between the sides of the section -1. Thus, any rotation of the, disc 32 will transmit motion to thearm' l through the two links and 40 and the rod 31.

It is to be notedthat' this is a positive connection'so that movement of the section I in either irection is under the direct. control of the bandie 33., i

. With movement of the section I, the hand section 8 is also moved but at a diiferent rate from that .ofsection 1. This is accomplished by the use of a connecting armor link 13 fixedly confixed section 5 and to the movable hand section 8. A slot is providedin the section 1 to accommodate thepin 144 in the section 5 as the arm 1 is rotated. .By curving the endof rod 43 and the link "43 and by the proper connections thereof tosections 5, .T and 8, a reversible wrist. motion is obtained with an intermediate straight arm position and a straight arm rest position.

With this construction, right, left, and. stop signals maybe given which areidentical with.

the curved end of section 1. The section 1 is on the signaling device. Thus, an operator, as he approaches a corner or decides to stop, may simply adjust the signaling device tothe correct position, as shown in Fig. 1, and then forget the signal imtil he. has made the indicated maneuver. This is a safety feature not found in many signaling devices of this type.

It is also to be noted that the unlatching of the signal from any adjusted position is quickly and readily accomplished by simply grasping the handle 33 over the member 54, the member 54 being squeezed to within the guard flanges of the member 33. Thus, only one hand is requiredto both" unlatch and adjust the signaling arm in contrast to the use of a separate locking arm as shown in Patent 2,081,805. A cover plate 56 is provided for the section 5'.

Referrin now to the disc 32, Fig. 4 shows that this disc has an upset central section 58 which has a flattened section 59 to provide a cam action: Upon this upset portion 58 rests an insulated end of a conducting switch element 60 under pressure of a spring 6|. Thus, when the handle 33 is in its-rest position-shown at I 0" in Fig. 1, the switch arm 60 will be positioned on the flat section 59 andjan electrical contact at62 will be broken; As soon, however, as the disc. 32 is -rotated by the handle 33, the switch arm will be raised and-electrical contact made.

The making'of the electrical contact is adapted to; energize a lamp 63 positioned in the hand section 8 over conductor 64 passing through the tubular member I8'to thepivot point l5 which is an electrical, insulated member. From point l5 an insulated conductor 65 extends to the lamp 63 while a similar conductor 66 extends from the lamp to the point 28, where it is grounded. Thus,

it is only necessary to connect the signal to an insulated post at point 61- (see- Fig. 2) and a circuit is made through the lamp 63 when the signal arms are adjusted to anyone of the left-hand, right-hand or'stop positions. The signal is thus suitable for night driving.

. The hand 8 is made of atranslucent material which will glow when the lamp 63 is energized.

A plate 68 is provided on t'he hand 8 which may.

be removed to.provide. accessto the lamp 63 for the removal or exchangethereof. A cover plate 69, as shown in Fig. 2, is to protect the 'portion.

of conductor 64 which is located externally of the section 5, as shown by. thedotted lines in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the upper portions of the I sections 5, 1 and 8 are substantially'closedto prevent excess moisture from getting to the operating points of the device, the device thus being I suitable to operate in inclement weather. In

the proper hand signal indications. each signaling position being under thepositive and direct control of th'e handle 33, Referring to the bandleportion, itwill be observed thatthe curved end of the section 5' contains a series of notches 48,, 49, 53 andEL Thesenotches are provided toaccomniodatcthe'end 53 of a latching member 54 pivotedat 55.between the flangesof the handle 33, the end 53 being urged into the notches by a compression spring 51.. It will also be noted that not only is the end 53 urged into the notch by'the spring .51, but the weight of the movable arms ections I. and. B has-a tendency to lock the end 53 intoany particular notch in which it is his undivided attention to the driving of the motor, vehicle instead of having to hold one hand fact, the device-has .operated satisfactorily in freezing temperatures after water. has been thrown on the signal. By providing the proper actions of the sections 1 and ,8 to correspond with the properhandsignals makes the device particularly suitable for inexperienced operators who are not accustomed to giving correct signals. It also prevents the careless giving of signals, as occurs in man'yinstances. Indicia such as is shown at 10 may be provided so that it is only necessary to position thehandle l0 atjth proper index to provide the proper signal. Furthermore, the positive and direct action employed for adjusting the signal avoids any false positioning in the event of'binding or tight joints. section may also have acolor different from the section I or sections 1 and 5 to'increase the visibility of the signal. Q

The hand What we claim as our invention is:

1. An articulated vehicle signal comprising a fixed section, an intermediate section eccentrically pivoted at one end thereof to one end of said fixed section, a terminal section having one end thereof centrally pivoted to the otherend of said intermediate section not connected to said fixed section, a rotatable-member in the other end of said fixed section not connected to said intermediate section, a rod connected to said rotatable member and to said intermediate section, a second rod connected'to said fixed section and to said terminal section and a slot in said intermediate section to accommodatethe connection of said second-mentioned rod to said fixedsection, the adjacent end portions of said rods being concavely curved toward one another, the point of connection of said second mentioned rod to said fixed section being nearer said eccentric pivot point than the point of connection of said first mentioned rod to said intermediate section.

2. A vehicle signal comprising a fixed section, a movable arm section, and a movable hand section, said fixed section having two parts, one part being adapted to be mounted on the inside of a wall of said vehicle and the other part on the outside of said wall, a pair of tubular members passing through said Wall for fastening said parts together and to said wall, an eccentric pivot 'connecting said arm section to the part of said fixed section mounted on the outside of said wall, a rod passing through one of said tubular members for,

rotating said arm section, a second rod passing section a different amount from that of said arm section when said arm section is rotated, and a slot in said arm section to accommodate the connection between said second rod. and said part mounted on the outside of said wall.

3. A vehicle signal in accordance with claim 1 in which a lamp is provided in said handsection and a conductor for energizing said lamp is contained in said other tubular member. I

'4. A. vehicle signalcomprising a fixed section of two portions, one portion on the outside and the other portion on the inside of a supporting wall of said vehicle, a pair of tubular members passing through said Wall for connecting said portions and fastenin said portions to said wall, a handle on said inside portion, arm and hand sections pivoted together, said arm section being pivoted to said outside portion, a rod through one of said tubular members pivotally connecting said handle and said arm section, a second rod through said arm section pivotally connecting said hand section and said outside portionQthe trical conductor through said other tubular member connecting said lamp and said switch.

- JOSEPH B. HOLMES.

LOUIS H. TILEY.

through said arm section for rotating said hand 

